The impact of exposure to armed conflict on altruistic and parochial preferences

Arzu Kibris, Harry Pickard and Neslihan Uler
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Arzu Kibris: Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

QAPEC Discussion Papers from Quantitative and Analytical Political Economy Research Centre

Abstract: How does exposure to armed conflict shape individuals’ prosocial behavior toward different identity groups? We study this question using a natural experimental setting that exogenously exposes individuals to armed conflict while isolating individual level mechanisms from broader societal changes. Through an incentivized lab-in-the field donation experiment with a representative sample, we measure altruistic and parochial preferences. We show that conflict exposure significantly reduces donations to out-group recipients. Further analysis reveals this parochial effect stems primarily from war traumas. We identify several individual-level psychological mechanisms driving these results, including heightened negative perceptions of the out-group, increased aggression, and greater authoritarianism. Our findings demonstrate the lasting effects of violent conflict on prosocial behavior, with implications for social cohesion and post-conflict recovery.

Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
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